Pea-shooters



Z. SWANSON May 26, 1959 PEA-SHOOTERS Filed March 9, 1956 Ziegner Swanson United States Patent PEA-SHOOTERS Ziegner Swanson, De Kalb, 111.

Application March 9, 1956, Serial No. 570,654

4 Claims. (Cl. 124-42) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Serial No. 307,859, filed September 4, 1952 and since abandoned.

This invention relates to toy blow-guns or so-called pea or bean shooters, and has for its principal object the provision of such shooters of the repeater type incorporating a tubular magazine adapted to hold a good supply of peas, and having improved, quick-action, pea dispensing means for withdrawing peas one at a time from one end of the magazine and depositing the same in the mouthpiece end of the barrel for firing.

In the pea-shooter of my invention I have provided a manually reciprocable member on the mouthpiece end, the reciprocation of which after each shot serves to effect the reload. A tubular magazine is disposed below a tubular barrel, and the reciprocable member is guided for endwise movement in transverse relation to the rear ends of the two tubes and is spring-pressed toward retracted lower position in which a port therein is in communication with the magazine for loading, the member being operable by thumb pressure upwardly to the firing position in which the port is placed in communication with the mouthpiece and barrel. A downward bend in the passage leading from the barrel to the mouthpiece makes it possible to shoot in a downward direction without danger of the pea or other pellet rolling out before it is blown out in the usual way. A cross-pin in the port in the reciprocable member is disposed behind the pea or other pellet in the port, thus preventing its rolling to the rear into the mouthpiece before it is blown out in the usual way.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side View of a pea-shooter made in accordance with my invention showing the reciprocable member in retracted position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the reciprocable member in firing position, certain portions being shown in section to better illustrate the construction and mode of operation, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout these views.

Referring to the drawing, the pellet 13a is made of tapioca, the so-called giant size tapioca pellets available on the market and commonly used for puddings being approximately the right size for use with the present shooter, and, in accordance with my invention, these pellets are preferably coated with aluminum or gold paint to give them a desired metallic appearance.

The reciprocable member 25a is disposed at right angles to the tubular barrel a, which, in the reciprocation of the member 25a from one limit position to the other, feeds one pellet 13a at a time to the barrel for firing under the air pressure supplied through the mouthpiece 15a. The mouthpiece 15a has an extension 15a in which the tubes 10a and 17a are mounted, and in this extension a dispensing chamber 14a is provided with which the rear end of the magazine tube 17a communicates.

2,888,003 Patented May 26, 1959 The chamber 14a has a downwardly inclined delivery end portion 34 down which the pellets roll by gravity when the shooter is held in the usual position, namely, approximately horizontally, so that the rearmost pellet will surely find its way into the port 12a, in abutment with a cross-pin 35. The latter is provided in the member. 25a as a barrier against rearward rolling of the pellet into the mouthpiece 15a when the reciprocable member 25a is raised to the firing position, as shown in Fig. 2. The passage 36 in extension 15c with which the rear end of the barrel 10a communicates also has a downwardly inclined rear end portion 37 opening into the vertical rectangular bore 38 that is provided in the extension 15e as a guide in which the member 25a is reciprocable. The purpose of this downward inclination at 37 is to prevent having a pellet 1311 when in firing position, as in Fig. 2, roll out through the barrel 10a before it is discharged in the usual way, and also to permit a certain amount of downward inclination of the barrel if the target is at a lower level. The barrel 10a may actually be pointed downwardly at an angle of approximately 30 without causing the pellet to roll out, because .when the barrel 10a is so inclined the portion 37 of passage 36 is then approximately horizontal. The slight extent to which the pellet has to run up the incline 37 before it can be discharged through the barrel 10a is not enough to interfere with good operation of the pea-shooter. The reciprocable member 25a is of rectangular cross-section and has an easy sliding fit in the bore 38. A coiled compression spring 39 caged in the upper end of the bore 38 holds the member 250: normally in the lower retracted position with the annular shoulder 40 thereon next to the reduced rectangular shank portion 41 in abutment with the annular shoulder 42 defined at the lower end of the bore 38 above the rectangular opening 43 through which the reduced shank 41 projects for operation by thumb pressure. A rectangular enlargement 44 on the lower end of the reduced shank 41 defines another annular shoulder 45 which limits the upward movement of the member 25a when the port 12a is in register with the rear end 37 of passage 36 and the front end of the passage 46 in the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece 15a may be of two-piece molded plastic construction similarly as the mouthpiece 15 and 15' of the other constructions, and with that thought in mind the parting line is indicated at 16a in Fig. 3, the mouthpiece being split lengthwise in a median plane on this line and cemented or otherwise suitably secured together with the rear end portions of the barrel 10a and 17a suitably cemented in place in the enlargement 47 at the forward end of passage 36 and the enlargement 48 at the forward end of the dispensing chamber 14a, respectively.

The operation is believed to be clear from the foregoing description. The peas or other pellets 13a are entered in the magazine tube 17a through the open front end Where a leaf spring 49, that is fastened at its front end to the bottom of barrel 10a and has its rear end portion extending through a slot 50 in the top of the front end of the magazine tube 17a, is arranged to be deflected out of the way as one after another of the pellets is entered, whereby thereafter to block the entrance against the pellets rolling out. There is only room enough for one pellet at a time in the port 12a and hence only one pellet will be blown at a time through the barrel 10a. The cross-pin 35 prevents pellets from rolling back through the mouthpiece when the reciprocable member 25a is moved to the firing position shown in Fig. 2, and yet this cross-pin will obviously not interfere with the blowing of the pellet out through the barrel. The barrel may be aimed horizontally or with upward or downward inclination and unless the downward inelination is beyond approximately 30 there is no danger of the pellet dropping out before it can be discharged. Pellets are never wasted, because if the member 25a is raised to firing position and no shot is taken, the member 25a automatically returns to the position of Fig. 1 when thumb pressure is released and the pellet that was ready for firing is saved for the next shot.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a repeating pea-shooter, the combination ofparallel elongated tubular barrel and magazine elements, a support for these elements having substantially parallel passages provided therein communicating with the inner ends thereof, the passages being adapted for the rolling of peas therethrough and both having downwardly inclined ear end portions communicating with one side of a vertical bore provided in said support, a manually operable member slidable vertically in said here from a loading position to a firing position and having an opening provided therein adapted to register with the lower end of either of the downwardly inclined rear end portions of the passages to receive a single pea, whereby to receive peas from said magazine, one at a time per operation of said member, and deliver the same to the inlet end of said barrel directly ahead of a mouthpiece, and a mouthpiece on the support having a passage provided therein communicating with said vertical bore diametrically opposite the lower end of the inclined rear end portion of the passage leadingto said barrel.

2. A pea-shooter as set forth in claim 1, including a cross-pin in the opening in the manually operable member adapted to limit rearward movement of a pea in said opening before discharge thereof through the barrel.

3. In a repeating pea-shooter, the combination of an elongated tubular barrel element, a magazine element, a support for these elements having two passages provided therein, one communicating with the inner end of the barrel and the other with the magazine, the passages being adapted for the rolling of peas therethrough and having rear end portions communicating in vertically spaced relation with one side of a vertical bore provided in said support, at least the rear end portion of the passage leading to the barrel being downwardly inclined toward said bore, a manually operable member slidable vertically in said bore from a leading position to a firing position and having an opening provided therein adapted to register with the end of either of said passages to receive a single pea, whereby to deliver peas from said magazine, one at a time per operation of said member, and deliver the same to the inlet end of said barrel directly ahead of 'a mouthpiece, and a mouthpiece on the support having a passage provided therein communicating with said vertical bore diametrically opposite the lower end of the inclined rear end portion of the passage leading to said barrel.

4. A pea-shooter as set forth in claim 3, including a cross-pin in the opening in the manually operable member adapted to limit rearward movement of a pea in said opening before discharge thereof through the barrel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 458,834 Ireland Sept. 1, 1891 670,629 Bonn Mar. 26, 1901 1,102,204 Shue June 30, 1914 1,152,447 Sproull Sept. 7, 1915 1,258,018 Kilgore Mar. 5, 1918 1,417,392 Lander May 23, 1922 1,854,605 Tratsch Apr. 19, 1932 2,633,838 Seward Apr. 7, 1953 2,640,476 Spink June 2, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Popular Mechanics, May 1934, page 765. 

